Suze Orman: 5 Things To Do With Your Workplace Benefits Before 2025
Written by
Nicole Spector
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Molly Sullivan
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The end of the year is sneaking up on us, which means it’s time to take inventory of all things finance before 2025 slides in. When doing this, it’s important to assess your workplace benefits — particularly as they pertain to you and your dependents’ health — and make sure you’re set up to have your needs met in the new year.
In a recent blog on her website, financial guru Suze Orman delved into five things you should do with your workplace benefits during this period of open enrollment. But don’t wait until the last minute. Wrap this up ASAP — ahead of 2025.
Consider a High-Deductible Plan
What sort of health insurance plan do you have now? If it’s not a high-deductible plan, you may want to switch over to one. Why? Because as Orman pointed out, there’s a strong possibility that your premium and/or deductible costs will increase in 2025.
“If you are in good health and you have a big emergency savings fund that could cover your annual deductible, you may want to consider using your plan’s high-deductible health insurance plan, which will come with a lower monthly premium,” Orman wrote.
A potential major perk with a high-deductible plan is that your employer may in tandem offer a health savings account (HSA), which allows for, as Orman put it, “a tax bonanza.”
“The money you set aside is pre-tax, the money grows without any taxation, and when you use the money to pay for qualified health costs – this year, or years from now, it’s your choice – you will owe no tax on your withdrawal,” Orman wrote.
But be careful here. Don’t switch over to a high-deductible plan if you’re short on funds. You’ll need extra savings on hand to cover a steeper deductible.
If Sticking With Your Current Health Plan, Ensure Your Doctors Are Still Covered
If switching plans doesn’t make sense for your financial situation, and you decide to continue your current health plan in 2025, ensure that any doctor or medical facility you need to see will still be in-network. If they aren’t, act now to find new care that will be in-network.
“Things change,” Orman wrote. “If you learn you will need to find new in-network care for 2025, it’s going to be less stressful if you take care of that now.”
Explore Life Insurance Policies Beyond What Your Job May Offer
Some employers offer no-cost life insurance policies to employees. Make no mistake: This is a perk you should take advantage of, but keep in mind that the payout may not be enough to provide for your family if you pass away.
“Typical employer-provided life insurance pays a death benefit equal to a year of your salary. Maybe two years,” Orman wrote. “I seriously doubt that will be enough to support your family.”
If you don’t have a large amount of savings to help your family get by should you die, Orman generally advises to get a life insurance policy with a death benefit that is equal to at least 20x to 25x your current salary.
“I know that sounds like a lot, but it’s not going to be a budget-buster if you buy term life insurance,” Orman wrote. “And for those of you with young children with a stay-at-home parent, please make sure there is a life insurance policy on that hard-working caregiver as well.”
Look For Options To Automate Emergency Savings
Part of the point of an emergency fund is for it to cover you in the event of a surprise medical expense. Does your workplace offer a way to automatically route a portion of your paycheck to a savings account? Look into this.
“Some employers even offer a matching contribution,” Orman wrote. “That’s a great benefit to help you build more financial security.”
If your employer doesn’t offer this option, spark a conversation with HR about it.
“Send your HR a link to SecureSave, which I co-founded when I noticed the lack of options companies had to help their employees save,” Orman wrote. “In the meantime, you can also ask your HR if you can set up a ‘Split Deposit’ of your paycheck, where you can designate how much of your pay to direct deposit into your checking account, and how much to automatically direct deposit into a savings account.”
Ensure You’re Saving 15% of Your Salary for Retirement
Like many other financial experts, Orman wants everyone to put 15% of their salaries aside into their own retirement savings. Make sure you’re doing this, and if you’re not, now’s the time to start.
“If you have a workplace plan, and you are not yet at 15%, consider increasing your contribution rate,” Orman wrote. “That 15% is the combined rate of your contributions and any employer contribution.”
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